"We could never learn to be brave and patient if there were only joy in the world" -

Helen Keller

The past few months have been a whirlwind of change and I'm just slowly catching up with all that has been happening. I was just talking to a friend about how fast time flies and yet at the same time sometimes days/months/years seem like they were forever ago. It seems like last year was a lifetime ago and this year I can hardly believe its almost September. I have to catch myself and focus on the good things instead of the hard things and I'm slowly getting the hang of it.

In the past few months we've adopted two new kitties to add to our family. Our older cat has cheered up a lot now that there are kittens running around but she still takes the time to knock some sense into them and show them who's boss. Our dogs are both interested and fearful of the kittens since they tend to start running around bouncing off the furniture, your head, the dogs so that can be a little unsettling. I'm so happy to be surrounded by so many pets they are just a joy and a constant source of laughter.

There is only one horrible, terrible thing about having these two new kitties.......yarn addiction. Apparently it starts young these days because both cats are completely set on finding any and all yarn/roving/ribbon/shoe laces you name it and they are on the prowl. I watched one of the cats scale the large bookcase to get to a basket of yarn I had placed on the highest shelf. Both cats feel that my spinning wheel is the greatest bed/play area ever. While I appreciate their great appreciation of all things fiber related it makes leaving my knitting out no longer an option. One of the cats in particular has the fine taste for sock yarn and while its horrible to even think about she particularly loves Malabrigo lace yarn. She actually picked up my very first skein of Malabrigo ever in her mouth and went running behind the television. I didn't even see her do it at first but my husband said "what did she just get?" Had I known that the Malabrigo was in danger I would have raced to its rescue immediately but since I was still unaware of this cats craftiness I let my husband go after her. When he emerged holding the Malabrigo now covered in kitten drool I dare say I felt a little faint.

I've been knitting random projects here and there. I'm still slowly knitting away on Crocus Pocus. I've learned the valuable lesson of only knitting charts when MS isn't rearing its ugly head. So this project is taking me a lot longer than I anticipated but patience is a virtue right? Susan has come out with additional pattern in her Garden Varietals collection so I'm excited about tackling those once I get Crocus Pocus complete. I love her designs and her blog she is so creative and always has something profound to say. She's witty and silly and just a really cool person I love seeing her designs come together the way she incorporates beads just thrills me to no end. My dear friend Betsy is working on one of Susan's designs and it is so gorgeous.

I'm also getting back into rubber stamping/altered art. My husband has set up a very nice work table and storage area downstairs so I can craft to my hearts content without having to constantly go upstairs to get something. I have all of my stamps, inks, ribbons, glitter, etc...organized and labeled and its been really fun just playing around again. I was visiting my parents a few weeks ago and my mom took me to this store called The Stamp Addict. It was fabulous!!!!! The owner was so sweet and helpful and I was able to pick up some supplies for a few projects I've been working on. My mom isn't really into stamping but she's a big quilter and luckily there is a quilt store next to the Stamp Addict. So I could drool over the different stamps and inks and my mom could shop at the quilt store. It was a perfect combination!

Living with MS continues to be a daily struggle but I'm dealing with it the best I can. I've got to focus on looking forward instead of looking back.